On Saturday, May 14, 2022, we were finally able to get together and enjoy T.A. Heckel’s fine wines from his personal cellar. We set a maximum of 100 participants, but felt compelled to allow the total to rise to 102 which was just right for brother Jahn Ballinger’s backyard. John is a collector of antique cars, and he displayed them as part of the ambiance of the wine tasting.

Wine Tasting Committee chairman, Tom Kusaka, paid the entry fee for six undergraduate brothers who enjoyed the event, but also participated by setting up tables and chairs, taking credit card payments and taking down tables and chairs. We thank them for their help, and acknowledge that we could not have done it without them. Wine Tasting Committee members included Greg Baxter, Steve Coleman, T.A. Heckel, Tom Licouris, Titus Moore, Jim Norquist, Mike Patton, Bruce Quan, Gary Renner, Dave Reuland and Mark Springer.

This year we were honored to have a special celebrity guest, Significant Sig Brandon Chaney (Indiana University 1993), proprietor and CEO of Fairwinds Winery in Napa Valley. Brandon brought and poured some of his In Hoc Nape Valley wines.

Although the primary purpose of the event is social, by creating a few fun ways to benefit our endowment, we were able to raise $24,000. We are told our endowment is the largest of any Sigma Chi alumni chapter in North America. We now have $2.250,000 donated or pledged with the ultimate goal of reaching a total of $3,000,000. The scholarships we give to our Active Chapter brothers not only encourage academic excellence and living in the Chapter House, but also provide for the long-term financial strength of our House Corporation. Living in the Chapter House provides the opportunity for brothers to learn leadership and social skills, and to form life-long bonds of brotherhood, all of which may only be possible for students today by being members of a fraternity or sorority. All six undergraduates purchased raffle tickets, two bought auction items and Bravo Bites the taco provider purchased the weekend at the Baxter’s Fish Camp cabin.

Brothers who registered for the event were: Tony Flores 56-S, Elwood Enns 60-F, Warren Williams 61-S, Tom Downing 62-F, Jerry Waters 62-F, Don Beauregard 62-S, Gary Renner 62-S, Mike Patton 63-S, Ted Harcksen 65-F, John Ballinger 65-S, Tim Vaux 66-F, Ken Blom 66-S, Jack Tacchino 66-S, Rich Barsanti 67-F, Greg Baxter 67-S, John Garcia 67-S, Steve Pavich 67-S, Tom Beggs 68-F, Michael Elliott 68-F, Jim Norquist 69-F, Dave Reuland 69-F, Shurl Rosenkrantz 69-F, Mark Scott 69-F, Larry Calvino 69-S, Don Ruiz 69-S, Peter Britton 70-F, Tom Licouris 70-F, Bill Robinson 70-F, Richard Wright 70-F, Michael Lynch 70-S, Chris Visser 71-F, Pat Beggs 72-F, Bruce Quan 72-F, Bill Smittcamp 73-S, Serge Tomassian 74-F, Kirk Wethey 74-F, Kevin Wren 74-F, Rodney  Gavroian 76-S, Rob Hauser 76-S, Steve Coleman 78-F, Brad Fischer 78-S, Jon Hollenbeck 79-F, Tom Kusaka 79-F, George Neves 79-F, T.A. Heckel 82-F, Marc Graham 84-S, Sergio Ilic 87-F, Alan Hansen 88-S, Jason Weiner 90-F, Brandon Cheney 90-S λ, Mark Springer 09-F, Evan Selander 12-S, Mike Colgate 14-F, Trenton Benevedes 20-F, Christian Cruz 20-F, Matthew Tatum 20-S, Cooper Lilles 21-F, Payton Thomason 21-F and Zaid Srouji 22-S.

After weeks of fog the skies finally cleared for our second golf tournament of the year, the Sigma Chi Brotherhood Open, hosted at Eagle Springs Golf and Country Club near Millerton Lake on Sunday, November 21st. A total of 60 brothers competed in the three man scramble with proceeds benefiting the Epsilon Eta chapter.

After a chilly morning the sun was shining for the 9:00am shotgun start and it turned out to be a beautiful day. Brothers were once again provided custom Sigma Chi golf balls, tees, ball markers and breakfast provided by the course. After the round, brothers gathered at the clubhouse for the raffle prize giveaway and announcement of winners.

Epsilon Eta Chapter Fundraiser Chair, Logan Mann (F’20), along with four other active chapter brothers, assisted with selling raffle tickets and other charitable opportunities, including a move up hole donation, two Vegas holes, and parimutuel betting, with proceeds going to the Epsilon Eta chapter. In total, Logan and the brothers raised nearly one thousand dollars, for a total of over four thousand dollars raised from both tournaments this year!

The Epsilon Eta chapter would like to thank all our alumni for the continued support and we look forward to seeing you all at the next tournament in the Spring of ‘22!

Gross Handicap Winners
1st place: Zach Worden (F’11), Dusty Lacefield (F’12) and Hayden Sorbo (F’15) – 63
2nd place: Andy Samuelson (F’09), Dustin Campbell (F’10) and Derrick Lacy (F’10) – 68
3rd place: Jeff Little (F’82), Scot Wilson and Larry Johnson (F’71) – 72

Net Handicap Winners
1st place: Jacob Balfanz (F’10), Zachary Gavroian (S’11) and Zac Black (non-Sig) – 57.8
2nd place: Devin Morales (S’13), Matt Morales (S’20) and Reiley Johnstone (F’12) – 59.3
3rd place: Martin Cortez (S’14), Justin Dykstra (non-Sig) and Blake Aguiar (non-Sig) – 59.5
*Winners were only eligible for prizes in one category. If a group placed in both categories, they received the greater prize and forfeited the other.

Longest Drive Winner
Jacob Balfanz (F’10)

Closest to the Pin Winner
Patrick Hawkins (F’18)

Best Dressed
Evan Selander (S’12), Chase Simpson (F’13) and Blake Garabedian (F’14)

 

House Corporation President John Ballinger 65-S permanently placed important Sigma Chi information on the walls in the Chapter House library. The items included a photo of a painting of past Consul, Significant Sig and Constantine Sig Phil Sanchez (52-T) in his ambassadors uniform, the Epsilon Eta charter, a plaque with the pictures of the five founders of Fresno Sigma Tau and what John calls the Wall of Honor. 

Besides being a quiet and comfortable place to study, the items on the wall are all important to our history and also indicate the values of Sigma Chi. It is a perfect place to bring potential new pledges to show them what Epsilon Eta is all about.

Significant Sig Elvin Bell 57-F has announced in a press release that he is donating some of his books to our chapter. A graduate and former adjunct professor and lecturer at Fresno State, who served five elected terms in public office, is donating nineteen books he authored to the Fresno State Epsilon Eta Chapter of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. Seven additional books brother Bell wrote while on active duty in the White House and Pentagon will be subsequently donated to the fraternity when the Department of Defense down-grades the books’ current top-secret classification.

In 2013, he was recognized by the fraternity as a Significant Sig in appreciation of his five terms in elected public office in California, and his remarkable combat and command leadership during a 31-year military career. The highlight of one of brother Bell’s assignments occurred on June 18, 1973, when President Richard Nixon, who knew of Bell’s intelligence work on Russia, ordered Bell transferred from his senior faculty position at the National War College in Washington, DC to the White House. During the next four long days Bell participated with President Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in negotiating the first Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) with Russia’s leader, Leonid Brezhnev. Prior to the White House SALT summit meeting, Bell led sensitive and highly risky intelligence missions into Russia, Poland, and Czechoslovakia.

During his three-plus decades of military service, he commanded seven different military units, including a Squadron and Group, had four assignments in the White House, a four-year tour in the Pentagon, and was deployed to six different foreign countries. As well as serving 16 years in elected office, Bell is also a retired Air Force Colonel after service in the Army National Guard, the Army, Air National Guard, and the Air Force.

Those attending Bell’s June 30, 1985, military retirement ceremony in the Pentagon included Vice President H. W. Bush, members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and California Governor George Deukmejian, who presented Bell with the honorary promotion to Brigadier General in the California Air National Guard.

Bell earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in public administration from Fresno State. He was a pledge in the Sigma Chi Fraternity ’s Fall 1957 class. He was also an Honor Roll graduate of Fresno’s Central High School. During his student years at Central he was editor of the school newspaper, winner of the annual American Legion speech contest two consecutive years, a champion debater, on the varsity track and basketball teams, President of the Sequoia League of Student Councils, and President of the Hi-Y, the boys’ Christian association. His Central track records in the high jump and the 1,320-yard race prevailed for 21 years before they were broken.

When he campaigned in 1965 for the Fresno City Council at age 27, he became the youngest person ever elected to public office in a major California city, according to the California League of Cities.

In addition to his BA and MPA degrees from Fresno State, brother Bell also has a law degree from LaSalle Law School, a master’s in international relations from the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, and a PhD in business administration and management from California Coast University, Santa Ana.

At noon on Thursday, July 1, 1976, Fresno Mayor Pro Tem Elvin C. Bell hoisted the historic bicentennial flag up the flag pole in front of City Hall where it waved in unison for five days with the Stars and Stripes and the California state bear flag. On the morning of July 5, 1976, Bell lowered the flag, folded it in the appropriate manner, had it appraised in value at $138,000, and placed it in his bank vault safe. It stayed there for 40 years. He found a permanent home for the flag at Fresno State when then President Joseph Castro accepted the flag as a prized gift. President Castro directed the flag be flown on campus on July 4, 2016. During subsequent years the flag is displayed at two different sites; a prominent wall display along with a proclamation that describes its significance, in the Henry Madden Library, and in the President’s office “Unfortunately,” Bell said, “the flag’s current fragile condition can no longer withstand being posted, but it is still available to be seen on campus and enjoyed because of its historic significance.

Contributed by Elvin Bell – In addition to donating the flag, I am pleased to provide the books to my Sigma Chi Fraternity library because my years as a Sigma Chi and a Fresno State student were the positive turning points in my life. I will always be grateful to the Sigma Chi leadership who saw and developed a talent in me that helped me win elected office five times, and serve my country on assignments in the White House, the Pentagon and in foreign countries.